By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, March 4: Sporty, roaring drift cars – almost all boys growing up would dream at least once of driving such vehicles and maybe even show off some skills to impress the girls.
While racing and drifting are usually termed as dangerous, they are not illegal provided that they are carried out through a sanctioned platform and not on public roads.
Sarawak’s very own drift scene may not be as popular as Japan’s where drifting competitions were popularised, and in fact, such a sport were almost non-existent until only recently.
However, there is good news for car fans in Sarawak where you can catch these specially tuned cars in action during the Borneo Star Drift Battle at La Promenade Mall today and tomorrow.
The event has been endorsed by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia and the Sarawak Motorsports Association.
According to the event’s head judge, Jason Lim, there are 35 participants including novice and professional drivers from all over Sarawak, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.
“Many generations back, Malaysia is actually one of the very famous drift scenes throughout Asia besides Japan but unfortunately a lot of sponsors already diversified into other aspects.
“We cannot have a one-man show, so I hope all these people (drift enthusiasts) can come out and help each other to bring up the(drift) scene to be more recognised so that the public, especially the younger generation who want to shine and participate can be given the opportunity to do so,” he told reporters at the Borneo Star Drift Battle clinic at the venue today.
Lim who is the Old But Gold (OBG) team founder and fourth place winner at the 2019 Asian Drifting Cup in South Korea, further stressed the importance of drifting competitions to serve as an avenue for drifters to gain experience and improve their skills.
“Competition and training are always very different. In competitions, you have more anxiety and feel more nervous. That’s how you get the experience before you actually decide whether you want to go for international competitions.
“Thus, the Borneo Star Drift Battle in particular is a milestone and I think it can help the local scene especially for those who are involved in motorsport, in the workshop, and also mechanics.
“It is a pretty demanding sport because participants need a lot of effort to build up the car, and then in drifting, you spend a lot on tyres as well,” he added.
Lim is one of the four judges for the event alongside national drifters Mohd Zaiham Hamdan@Bullzai, Gui Foo Sing, and Fazreen Ismail.
Today, the participants will have a drift clinic including a drift briefing and scrutineering as well as a discussion with the judges and instructors from 10am onwards.
The open practice session for the drivers starts from 2pm to 7pm.
Tomorrow, the Qualifying Race for the novice drivers will start at 10am followed by professional and amateur (pro-am) drivers at 11am.
At 1pm, the Tandem Race for pro-am drivers will commence, followed by finals. — DayakDaily
